Shattered Walls
by Darkness Dreamer
Summary: Me going to Horizon...everything that happens in this story has happened to me in real lfe...chapter 9...Heather is awake, and has a little "discussion" with Peter and Sophie...R/R please
1. Prologue: Have You Ever

Shattered Walls By: Hellzdreamer  
  
~Prologue: Have You Ever~  
  
Have you ever lived my life? Spent one minute in my shoes? If you haven't, than tell me why You judge me as you do.  
  
Have you ever woken up in the morning, Wondering if this was your last day on Earth? Have you ever left your house, Unsure if you'd return?  
  
Have you ever seen your friend get shot, Outside his favorite store? Have you ever had a friend die, From drugs he'd never used before?  
  
Have you ever seen your mom get beat up, By a stepdad messed up on booze? Have you ever had an unwanted pregnancy, Forcing you to choose?  
  
Have you ever sat beneath the stars, Hoping God will hear? Have you ever seen your friend drive away, After way to many beers?  
  
Have you ever had a friend, Experiment with weed? Have you ever covered up guilt, By doing a good deed?  
  
Have you ever considered suicide, As the only way? Have you ever tried to hide yourself, Behind the things you say?  
  
Have you ever wanted to protect, Your friends and everyone in sight? Have you ever felt such pain, That you cried yourself to sleep at night?  
  
Have you ever lived my life, Spent one minute in my shoes? If you haven't, than tell me why, You judge me as you do. 


	2. The Phone Call

A/N: This is a story about what it would be like if I went to Horizon. Everything that leads to me going to Horizon is true, along with everything else. Nothing is changed except for the names, and of course that is to protect people's privacy- but my name is Heather.  
  
Disclaimer: All HG characters aren't mine, etc. Everything else is mine, or at least my past.  
  
And now, on with the story.  
  
*Shattered Walls* By: Darkness Dreamer  
  
Mr. Joseph Haffey didn't know what to do. After 10 years of being a high school principal, this was by far the hardest decision he's ever had to make. On the one hand, he had a direct violation to school policy, a student had brought drugs to school, for a third time, and going by the three strikes and you're out rule, expulsion was the only option. On the other hand, he had a student already dancing on the edge of an emotional breakdown, and being faced with expulsion might be the last straw. He couldn't figure out any other options, however. Like it or not, Heather couldn't stay in the school system. But she really was the sweetest girl, and she had been through so much already. If there ever was an at-risk- teen, she was it. Suddenly, Joe had a thought. "At-risk-teen, at-risk-teen.Of course! Why didn't I think about this sooner! I've just got to make a phone call to an old friend."  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
Later- phone call (~ stands for Joe's response)  
  
~ring, ring~  
  
"Hello, Mt. Horizon, Peter Scarbrow spreaking." ~ "Hey Peter, it's Joe Haffey, how ya been?" "Hey Joe, long time. Things have been great. I just got new funding for the school, so now we'll be able to keep it open for another 4 years, Sophie and I are getting married, and all the kids are doing great. I couldn't be better." ~ "Well, that's just swell. Listen, I know this is kind of last minute, but I'm in a bit of a jam. See, I've got this kid. She's." "Okay, I know where this is going. Let's hear about her." ~ "Well, she's a great kid. Total sweetie, but I don't know whether to hug her or to kick her! She's been through a lot, and I would love to keep her here, but the fact is, she's reached her third strike for possession of drugs. She just can't stay. She's got a history of emotional problems, and there seems to be some issues at the home. She has never got into a fight at school, and she gets along with her teachers really well. There had been a problem with skipping school, as of late, however. She's very athetic, artistic, and smart. She loves the outdoors, as well. I just know that she would love Horizon, it's right up her alley." Mr. Haffey stops his ranting and takes a deep, long, and sorrowful breath, "Peter, I'm worried about her. She's been through so much, that I fear expulsion will push her over the edge. Or worse, that her parents might have something to say about it. She needs help, and I just can't give it to her.Well, what do you think?" "Well Joe, if I hadn't met some of the other kids, I'd say she sounds like a handful, but I have, so.let's see what Horizon can do for her." ~ "Oh, that's great Peter, just great. Thank you so much. I just know you can reach her. I'll call her into the office now to talk to her about it." "Wait, one more thing, Joe. What's my newbie's name?" ~ "Oh, of course, I completely forgot. It's Heather, Heather Walls."  
  
A/N: Okay. Well this chapter was just to get the background kind of laid out. More will happen in the next chapter, I promise. ^_^ ~ Darkness Dreamer 


	3. Her Last Day Home

Heather sat in her room, razor blade in hand. She had already taken 5 ecstasy pills, smoked 3 bowls, and drank away her sorrows in a 22 of Bacardi. She didn't want to remember this day at all. Now all she had to do was to wash it all away in blood. She pulled up her sleeve and stared at the criss-crossing of about 100 scars; some old, some new, red, brown, white. They were like the road map of her suffering. She turned her arm over and looked on the top. It was even worse than the under arm. Not in the sense of number, no, but because the scares on the top were far worse. They would never fade, like the insignificant cuts. These were burns, third degree burns to be precise, 16 of them; one for every shitty year of her life. It made her arm look like a tally board, 16 lines all in a row, metrically measured to be exactly half a centimeter apart.  
  
She looked at the rest of her body now. There were scars and bruises all over, some from her, some from others. She shuddered at this thought. "Oh well," she thought, "if I'm going to have scars anyway, might as well cause them myself." With this, she thought back to the day so she would get into the state of mind to do what she needed to do.  
  
~Flashback of the day~ (* will mean what Heather is doing in real time, while she thinks about the flashback)  
  
Heather had been walking down the school halls, trying to get to the bathroom before she just lit up in the middle of the hall. She was femming bad. Her supply had run out and she hadn't been able to get a fix for about 5 days. The dealer had already been kicked out of school, and now she didn't know where to get her weed. Just today, one of the gromets from the 9th grade had past by her in the locker room and Heather got the opportunity to take her stash. It looked to be some good stuff, too.  
  
Just then, her principal, Mr. Hail Hittler Haffey stepped out in front of her. "And where are we going, Ms. Walls." "Uh, just to the bathroom, Mr. Hittler, um, I mean Mr. Haffey." "Well, I think you can hold it for a little bit. I'd like a word." Heather mumbled something under her breath that sounded remarkably like the word "funk" and followed Mr. Haffey into his office.  
  
*"Dirty little bastard, stupid little fuck" cut, cut.  
  
Mr. Haffey sat her down in his office. Then he started the lecture. "Ms. Jones seems to think that you stole from her in the locker room this morning. She had a very convincing story, seeing as how her back pack was ripped open, her money gone, and her things found thrown around the locker room. Now, what I want to know is what could cause Ms. Walls, the student that gets along with all her teachers and gets straight A's to beat up on a little ninth grader. Would you care to enlighten me, Ms. Walls?"  
  
Heather took a deep breath and tried to come up with a good excuse. All she could come up with, however, was a sarcastic remark, as always. "She looked like a guy, and I didn't think that a guy should be in the girls locker room." She said with a shrug and a smirk.  
  
"No, no, I don't think so, Ms. Walls. Ms. Jones has already come clean as to what you took from her. Since this is her first offense, and since she told us herself to, how you say, catch a bigger fish, she will get off very easy. You, on the other hand, have had your third strike." Mr. Haffey then proceeded to do a thorough search of Heather, her clothes, her purse, her locker, and her car.  
  
*"Rotten little fink, gunna kill that annoying little nark" slash, cut, blood running down the arm.  
  
~Later in the day~  
  
"Heather, I told you earlier that I would call you back to tell you your punishment. As you know, this is your third time getting caught in school with illegal drugs. Now, I just can't let you off the hook this time." Mr. Haffey paused, know that what he was about to say would change his student's life forever. "Heather, school policy calls for expulsion, but I want to help you, and not hurt you, so I called my friend Peter Scarbrow. He runs a school for at-risk-teens up in Canada. Now, I've called your parents, and we all agree. You will be leaving for Mt. Horizon tomorrow."  
  
"But Mr. Haffey, you can't! Do you know what my parents will do to me?! They'll kill me!! You can't do this to me! I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! I'll never do it again, I promise. I swear!"  
  
"I'm sorry, Heather. It's out of my hands. You did this to yourself. Now go home. You're excused from the rest of the day to pack your bags." As Heather got up to leave, Mr. Haffey came and gave her a quick hug. He had tears and his eyes. She went to the door without another word. As she opened it to leave, she heard him mumble something that sounded like "good luck" and she left with her head down, tears in her eyes, and fear in her heart.  
  
*"He really cares, and I let him down.again" cut, cut , deeper, more blood.  
  
~Once at home~  
  
"You stupid, stupid girl! How could you get caught for the third fucking time! You make our family look like a bunch of criminals! Now we have to spend our hard earned money to ship you off to some school for juvenile delequints! How could you do this to us!?" Her father raged. Heather know what was coming next.He slapped her hard across the face. She feel back, unable to regain her center of balance. He was over her now, kicking her in her gut until she could taste blood in her mouth. She tried to cry out, but he just kicked her harder. She looked for her mother. Sometimes she would come and stop her dad, if she wasn't too drunk already, but it was no use. She already saw her mother passed out on the couch, appearently having been drinking since she got the call from the school. Heather hated disappointing her mother, she was the one person she loved in this world. It was all her fault, though. She couldn't take back what she had already done. Her last waking memory was of her father standing over her, that gleam in his eye, bending down, unbuttoning her pants.  
  
~End Flashback~  
  
Heather didn't know if she had passed out from the pain, or from the sheer will to not have to be awake while her father raped her again. All she knew was that when she woke up, she was in her room with the door locked, and her pants and thong were down pulled up in a fashion that would suggest that it had been done in a hurry. That was when she had gotten into her secret stash and taken the drugs. She looked down at her arm now, and gasped at what see saw. It was covered in dry and wet blood. Appearently while she had been in her trance-like state, she had really let herself have it.  
  
She looked at her clock. It was 10:00 pm already, and she still had to pack. Listening for any sign of her parents still being awake, she got out her library card and picked the lock. She tipped toed into the bathroom and took a hot shower. She had to get the dirty feeling off of her that was always left behind. She rinsed her arm and looked at her handy work. There were about 50 new cuts there, some very deep. She could probably use stitiches, but, oh well. She also looked down at her stomach. You could already see the dark purple and blue bruises forming, and see could also see where the dried blood made a line down her inner leg. It made her sick to her stomach. She turned of fhte shower and jumped to the toilet, emptying her stomach instantly. Not that this was new to her, she had been throwing up whatever she ate for about 5 years now, ever since her mother started to say she was fat, and her father started to say she needed to be prettier. She shuddered at that thought. When she started "become prettier," her father had started to touch her. Then the more weight she lost.but she didn't want to think about that.  
  
After flushing the toilet and brushing her teeth, she grabbed from the bathroom what she would need to pack and turned off the light. She went back into her room and got out her suit case, and began to pack. Suddenly, she saw a good side to going away, she wouldn't be anywhere near her father. With a new found hope, she finished packing and went to sleep, awaiting the nexy day.  
  
A/N: Ok, see, I told you this chapter yould hold more. It was kind of hard to write, seeing as how this is me, and I'm kind of putting everything that has ever happened to me out in the open, but oh well, had to some time I guess. R/R and tell me what you think please. Flames are welcome, but only if they're constructive. Ok, ba-bye now. 


	4. The Ride Up and Pick a Buddy

A/N: Okay, here's the new chapter, and thanks so much for the reviews, they really make my day.but without further ado, here's the next chapter to Shattered Walls.  
  
Heather sat in the back seat in silence. In the front seat, her parents were talking like nothing was different at all. She hated them for that. How could her dad just sit there and act like the "perfect father," just oh so worried about his baby girl, and doing the best thing he knew he could do for her, by getting her the "help" that she needed, when all along, he was probably the main cause of all of this. How could her mother sit there and talk about the horrible consequences of drugs, when she herself was past out 6 out of 7 nights a week from alcohol and prescription painkillers. How could they be that good at acting? She hated them, well, no, that's not entirely true. She loved her mother, she just hated her drinking problem. But she did hate her dad, every square inch of him. But she hated herself more. She knew that she was wrong in the things she did, but what choice did she have? The drugs and the cutting allowed temporary relief from the pain she kept inside. The purging had just become an everyday thing, it was programmed into her now, and the rape, well, her father had told her time and time again that she asked for it, begged for it, even needed it. That it was how he showed her love, and if she didn't want the rape, then she didn't want to be loved.what could she say to that? Those were the thoughts going on in her head while her parents drove her the 3 hours to the airport.  
  
~About 8 hours later~  
  
"Okay cliffhangers, your new team mate will be arriving in about 10 minutes. I would like you all to welcome her with open arms." Peter stressed the welcome part and looked at Shelby, knowing how she was with newbie girls. "Alright everyone, you are know free to go get ready for dinner." All the cliffhangers began to move out of the group room. "Wait up there a sec, Jules," Peter said, "I would like you to be Heather's buddy for the first week. You've been making excellent progress, and I think you would be very good for her. How 'bout it?"  
  
"Sure thing, Peter, that'd be great! I can't wait!" Juliette replied with a squeal, and skipped out the room.  
  
Peter turned off the lights and walked out of the room. He hoped Juliette would be okay with Heather, because from what he had heard, they had quite a few similarities.  
  
A/N: Sorry for the short chapter, but the next one will most likely be up today as well, and it will hold more. 


	5. The Arrival and Search

A/N: Thanx soooo much for all of y'alls reviews. It really makes me feel good about this story, like writing it is the right thing to do. And especially a big thank you to Banana Belle, you've been very supportive. I am usually the type of writer who writes like one chapter and then gives up on a story, no matter if I get the reviews or not, but I promise I won't do that on this story. And one more thing.a little bit of shameless self- promoting.I have another name, too.It's Hellzdreamer, and I have 2 stories on ff.net and one poem on fictionpress.net, so if you wanna read more of my stuff, that's where you'll find it. Okay, enough with the A/N, on with the story.  
  
Ten minutes later, at about 8 p.m., a taxi pulled up My. Horizon's only road. Peter and Sophie were standing there to greet their newest Cliffhanger. Juliette was also there, anxiously awaiting her new buddy.  
  
"Peter, I just can't wait! I know Heather and I will get along just great!" Juliette turned to her headmaster and said.  
  
"I know Juliette, I know. I choose you because I think you two will be friends in no time. Well, here she is."  
  
With that, the girl that they were all waiting for stepped out, carrying her duffel bags out with her and walked around the car, allowing them to get their first good looks at her as the taxi drove away. She was about 5' 4" with long blonde hair with purple and black streaks in it down to her mid back. She wore baggy black Jncos with holes in both knees and torn up leg bottoms from where they've dragged the ground. She had on a red baby tee with the word "Rebel" in sliver glitter across her chest and safety pins in the cuts that went up the short sleeves. Underneath the tee shirt she wore a black long sleeve that hugged her arms, which Peter thought was peculiar, seeing as how it was the beginning of September and still about 85 degrees out. And to top it all off, she wore a black and stud belt, bracelet, and necklace, with very heavy black eye makeup and sparkly black lips. Peter's first thought was "Wow, it's another Daisy." But then he mentally slapped himself for going against his own teachings and judging before he got to know her. Besides, he knew from personal experience the mist people who dressed like this did so to hide their true selves and to not allow people to get to close to them.  
  
Juliette was the one to snap him out of his thoughts. "Hey Peter," Juliette said, "uh, don't you think, that maybe, well, Daisy might be a better buddy for her?"  
  
"Now Jules, don't get intimidated. You know as well as I do that Daisy looked just as scary or scarier when she first got here, but she's nice, is she not?" Peter said in reply. "Besides, you were so excited a minute ago. Are you going to let her appearance change your mind and attitude?"  
  
"You're right, Peter. As always, let's go talk to her!" With that, Peter, Sophie, and Jules approached the new girl.  
  
~Change of POV- Now from Heather's prospective~  
  
Heather stepped out of the taxi, set her bags on the ground, and walked over to the driver side window and handed the driver the money that her mother had given her to give to him. She then picked up her bags from the ground and looked around at to what was to be her new "home." Then she saw them. There were two adults and one girl who looked to be around her age walking towards her. Before they got close enough to hear, she mumbled something about "What is this.the Brady Bunch welcome?" and put one her "impress the teachers" face before they came upon her.  
  
The man was the first to speak. "Hello. I'm Peter Scarbrow, and you must be Heather." With that he raised his hand and Heather gave it a polite, but firm, hand shake.  
  
"Hello Mr. Scarbrow. I'm Heather Walls. I suppose you are the one I will be answering to for the time being?"  
  
Slightly taken back by the politeness and presence that the girl had, it took Peter just a second to respond. "Um, yes, I am your new headmaster, and please, it is just Peter. Now, allow me to introduce you to one of your counselors." He motioned to Sophie and went on. "This is Sophie Becker, Sophie to all of the students and my future wife, and she will be working with you one-on-one on occasion. The other girl is Juliette, and she is to be your first week buddy, to help you get acquainted with your new home."  
  
"Hello Sophie, Hello Juliette, how do you do? Sophie, congratulations on your engagement." Heather responded. She could she that her politeness was working, because the people that surrounded her looked very perplexed. Obviously, they were not use to the kids treating them like this when they first arrived.  
  
Peter then decided that introductions were over, and that it was time to get to work. "Alright Heather, let's get you situated. If you'll follow Sophie, she will take you to have your belongings searched and then you will report back to me for the initial assessment." With that, Peter turned to walk away, with Juliette following behind. Heather looked up at Sophie expectantly and Sophie caught the hint. She then turned and lead Heather to a room with no windows and a table in the middle of it.  
  
"Okay Heather. How about you put your duffel bags up here."  
  
"Sure thing, Sophie." Heather said, as she complied with her new counselor's request. All that time, though, she was thinking to herself. 'What a laugh! Do they actually think that they're going to find anything on me?! I've been to 5 mental hospitals and group home! I know how to get away with anything!'  
  
After Sophie finished with Heather's last bag, she looked up. "Well, that is a refreshing surprise! We always find at least one item of contraband, even if it is just over the counter pain medication." She said this with a big smile on her face. What greeted her was Heather's even larger one. Sophie thought that she was smiling because she did what she had wanted, but in reality, Heather was smiling because she knew she had gotten away with it yet again.  
  
"Okay," Sophie said, "last order of business before I take you to go see Peter; the rules. They're pretty simple and to the point. There's no drugs, no sex, no inappropriate touching of any kind and no violence. This is suppose to be a safe haven and many people have issues here that those actions could trigger a painful memory for them. Also, anything you say to myself or to one of the counselors is strictly confidential, unless of course we."  
  
Sophie was then cut off, much to here surprise, by Heather, who then proceeded to finish her sentence for her. "unless of course we suspect abuse or an intent to harm, either yourself or others. Then of course, by law, we are required to report it. No offense Soph, but I've heard the speech before, so, not to be rude or anything, but can we just get this over with."  
  
"Oh, well, of course. My, you have been through this before. May I ask, where, and when?"  
  
"You may ask, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to tell you. Now, let's go get that assessment." And with that, Heather grabbed her bags and walked out of the door, leaving behind a very surprised, and slightly concerned, Sophie. 


	6. The Interview with Peter

A/N: I am sooooo sorry that it has taken me this long to update. I promise you that I won't give up on this story, it's very important to me. But school has really been kicking my ass lately, and if I am to graduate come June, I really gotta buckle down. And on top of that, I got a new job, and they have been taking up all the rest of my free time. Take all that, plus trying to plan my September wedding, have some sort of a life, practice my skating (I'm an aggressive inline skater, and a pretty good one, and I have a competition coming up soon), and go to all my counseling sessions, well, you can see why I got a little behind. Well, enough of my excuses, I'm sure y'all are tried of them and just want to get on with the story. Anyways, here goes. The next installment to.Shattered Walls  
  
Heather waited for Sophie to get over the shock of her last comment outside. She didn't exactly know where Peter's office was, so she didn't really have a choice in the matter, anyhow. At that thought, Sophie came outside. She seemed to have regained her composure and was all business again.  
  
"Okay Heather, on to Peter. It's this way." With that she started walking to Peter's office, Heather following right behind.  
  
~In Peter's Office~  
  
"Okay Heather, it's time for your assessment." Peter said with a smile on his face. He was interested to find out about this girl. All he knew about her was what Joe had told him on the phone. He didn't even have her file to look over before she got here. Joe had said that she would be bringing it with her. So here he was, with nothing on his new student, and not knowing what to expect once he started talking to her. 'Might as well get this over with,' he thought.  
  
"Ready when you are," Heather replied, after she realized that Peter had stopped talking a few moments ago. Heather's thoughts on these assessments here simple, just nod your head, say as little as possible, and no one will be any wiser. But she was slightly worried about this one, for some reason. This place, more specifically, this Mr. Scarbrow, seemed to understand and perceive things a bit more than your average hospital head shrinker.  
  
"What, oh, okay Heather," Peter started, snapping out of his thoughts, "why don't we start with why you are here."  
  
"Sure thing. I'm here because I got my third strike at school for possession of illegal substances at school."  
  
"Okay, care to elaborate on what those three strikes consisted of?"  
  
"Well, the first one was last year. I got caught with weed on me when they had the drug dogs come in for a random search. The second one was at a football game. I came to the game high and I tripped on the bleachers. When I came too, they asked me if I had used and told me to take a drug test. When it came up positive, they searched me and found some oxi pills on my, along with a quarter bag of Jamaican Red on me. And I'm pretty sure you already know about the last one, but what the heck. I took this girl's weed from her at school and she reported me. And the little fucking nark didn't even get into trouble for having it in the first place! I mean, god damn, she had the fucking weed too! Man, if I was still there, she'd." Heather paused, and almost panicked. She never should have got going. In all of her assessments, she never let her feelings show. It was a part of her self-given rules. And just then, she had allowed herself to show how angry she was at that damn girl! Shit! 'Okay, relax Heather.' She told herself, 'I'm sure he sees this all the time. You're not going to give yourself away with a little bit of anger. Slowly, Heather took a deep breath, and continued, "Well, I guess that's about it. What else would you like to know?"  
  
"Well, uh," Peter stuttered. He didn't exactly know what to say. This girl had just been blatantly honest with him about her drug use, well, at least the part that included her school, and she seemed totally in control. But then, at the drop of a hat, she had switched into a very angry girl with a thirst, it seemed, to hurt that girl that had gotten her into trouble. Not trying to show what he was thinking, however, Peter went on. "how 'bout you show me that folder that you were suppost to bring with you?"  
  
"Sure thing." She said, much more calm, and she dug into her backpack. What she brought out was the thickest folder Peter had ever seen. It had to hold at least 200 papers.  
  
"Wow, uh, that's a lot of stuff. Let my take a wild guess that you've been through this all before." Peter said with a small smile.  
  
"Sure have, 6 times. 5 mental hospitals, and a group home. All the reports and drug screens and things from the hospitals and home are in there. There is also a section from the school, and a personal letter to you from Mr. Haffery. But don't worry, I didn't read it. The last thing I want to know is what my principal thinks of me." With that, she handed the folder over to Peter.  
  
"Um, okay Heather, why don't you go and get your physical done while I read through all of this. Sophie should be outside waiting for you."  
  
"Sure thing. See you later."  
  
"Bye"  
  
And with that, Heather left the office, leaving behind a very overwhelmed Peter. 


	7. The Physical

Heather walked out of Peter's office, surprising Sophie, she thought that Heather would be in there much longer than that, talking to Peter.  
  
Heather picked up on this, and said, "Peter wants me to go ahead and have the physical while he looks over my files, and afterwards I'm suppose to go back and talk to him."  
  
"Oh, okay. Dr. Burke is waiting for you in exam room B. This way."  
  
Once in the exam room, the doctor came in.  
  
"Okay, Ms." he paused, and looked down at her file, "Walls, why don't you go behind that curtain and put on a robe and come back out so we can get started."  
  
"Uh," Heather stuttered, "I'd rather not. I'm really self-conscious. I'd really like it if you'd let me take the physical in my clothes."  
  
"I'm sorry, Ms. Walls, but I can't do your physical unless you're in a gown."  
  
"But, but." Heather began, with real fear in her eyes. She always somehow got around the physical part of intakes. Now, it looked like she wasn't going to be able to.  
  
"Heather, just go change. I promise, you have no reason to be so self- conscious in front of the doctor and I." Sophie said, trying to get Heather to be more comfortable. To her surprise, however, Heather met her comment with sudden, unbelievable anger.  
  
"No! Fuck that! I'm not doing it! You can take your fucking physical and shove it up your ass!" And with that, and surprising speed, Heather ran out of the room and towards the woods.  
  
"Heather! Heather, come back here! Heather!" Sophie yelled, to the girl's quickly retreating back, as she tried to catch her. Seeing that it was useless, however, she ran to Peter's office.  
  
Peter was sitting behind the huge stack of paper that Heather had handed him, trying to learn a little more about his mysterious newbie, when Sophie came running in.  
  
"Sophie! What's the."  
  
"It's Heather! She freaked out at her physical when we asked her to change into a gown. She started cussing and then ran out of the room. I tried to catch her, but man, she runs faster than anyone I know, maybe even faster than you Peter, and she has about a 5 minute head start."  
  
"Damn it!" Peter cursed, obviously upset, because he never cussed. He should have been more careful; she was obviously a flight risk. "Which way did she go?"  
  
"The woods."  
  
"Okay," Peter said, "turn your walkie-talkie to channel three, and wait for my signal, if I call, that means I haven't been able to find her, and you need to form search parties and call the local authorities." Peter paused, and lowered his voice, sounding defeated, "I can't believe it. She's a mix between Daisy, Shelby, and Scott. What a combination."  
  
Having waited enough, Peter grabbed his walkie-talkie and ran out the door, leaving behind a very concerned Sophie. 


	8. Running Away from Secrets

A/N: I am so sorry that it has taken me so long to post. I've been whaving to work like every night and wake up to go to school the next morning. Plus, yesterday I just had my senior prom, so that was keeping me busy for a while. Anyway, this chapter is pretty long, and I already have the next one written, just not typed up yet, so it shouldn't be too long. Well, enough talk, on with the story! Oh, and as always, thanks so much for the reviews! Later! ^_^  
  
Heather ran. She knew she was fast, and she had great endurance, so she wasn't exactly worried about being caught. After all, before she got kicked off the track team, she had held the district record for the mile, half mile, and the 400-meter. (And too her knowledge, she still held it. No one around where she used to live had been faster than her.) She wasn't even that worried about the woods, she loved the outdoors, and she knew navigating techniques. What she was concerned about was that the last thing she had to eat was dinner last night, before she had ended up passed out in her room. And even that dinner had ended up flushed down the toilet. Plus the fact that she had cut, and lost a lot of blood. Top all that with the drugs and alcohol, well, needless to say she didn't exactly have much energy to go on.  
  
So after about 20 minutes of sprinting, it wasn't exactly a surprise that she started to get dizzy. She didn't want to stop, she couldn't, because she knew that by now Peter or someone would be trying to catch her. So she kept going. Kept going while her vision darkened. Kept going while her arms went numb from lack of oxygen. Kept going while she was so dizzy that the woods were spinning. Kept going even though she knew she was falling. She kept going until she lost consciousness.  
  
~Peter's POV~  
  
Peter was getting worried. He had been running for about 30 minutes now, and he still hadn't caught sight of his new student. 'Man, she's fast' he thought. He was always able to catch his run away students. Apparently, that was about to change. But just as he was going to call Sophie to get the search parties together, he spotted a splash of red amongst all the browns and greens. Then that splash of red became a shirt of red, and that shirt became his student, lying face down on the forest floor.  
  
Peter ran over to his fallen student and turned her over.  
  
"Heather! Heather! Can you hear me? Wake up, Heather! Come on!" he said, shaking her. Still, he got no response.  
  
"Sophie, come in Sophie!" Peter screamed frantically into his walkie- talkie.  
  
"What? What is it? What's wrong, Peter? Did you find her?"  
  
"Yes, but she is unconscious, and completely unresponsive. I don't know whether it is just heat exhaustion, or something else. But judging on her skill as a runner, I'm guessing it's not simple exhaustion."  
  
"Where are you?"  
  
"I'm about 3 miles away from the school."  
  
"Wow. She got that far, running in those baggy jeans, through woods, in 30 minutes?!"  
  
"Yea, I know. She's really quick. Probably an athlete. I'm going to start to carry her back. If she wakes up, I'll call you, tell you how she is, and if she can walk on her own. If not, well, just go ahead and get the infirmary ready, and call in the doctor. Oh, and notify the hospital, just in case. It could be more serious then simple fainting."  
  
"Roger Peter. Keep me informed. Oh, and Peter, hurry." Sophie said, concern apparent in her voice.  
  
"Will do. Over and Out."  
  
~*~*~*~*~  
  
About and hour later, Sophie was still waiting to hear from Peter, or to at least see him come out of the woods.  
  
Just as she looked to the woods for what had to be her 100th time, however, her fiancee came into view, carrying a still unconscious Heather. She ran to meet them.  
  
"Peter, how is she, has there been any change?"  
  
"I'm afraid not. She's still not responsive. We have to get her to the infirmary."  
  
"Okay, the doctor's already there, waiting, and the hospital is alerted, waiting for your call if an ambulence is needed. They said it could be here in about 20 minutes."  
  
"That's great Sophie. Well done. Okay, let's go."  
  
Once in the infirmary, Heather's limp body was laid on the examination table. The doctor rushed over, not really wanting to believe that the girl who laid there was the same lively, I'll be it, very angry, girl he had just tried to give a physical to not 2 hours ago.  
  
"Man, oh man. This is all my fault. She didn't have to change into a gown, we could have worked around that."  
  
"No, Dr. Burke," Peter said, "It wasn't your fault at all, you were just doing your job."  
  
"Oh well, at least I can help her now." And with that, he told Peter and Sophie to step outside so he could get to work.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
About 30 minutes later, Peter and Sophie were still outside, pacing in front of the door. Just then, Dr. Burke came out.  
  
"How is she, Dr. Burke? Do I need to call the hospital? What about her parents? And." Peter had been saying all this in one breath, and probably would have continued if Dr. Burke hadn't interupted him.  
  
"Peter, she'll be fine. But I did find out why she didn't want to change, and why she lost consciousness."  
  
"Really? Tell me, please."  
  
"I will, but I wager it will be very difficult for her, knowing that you know, judging by how hard she tried to hide it. So I ask you, don't approach her, wait until she tells you."  
  
"Very well. Now, please, tell us what is wrong."  
  
"Okay, here goes. She didn't want to change most likely to the fact that she has scars and bruises all over her body. She had many bruises all over her, some new, some old, and significant bruising in the vaginal area, suggesting either long term sexual abuse, or at least a rape within the last 2 weeks, and long term physical abuse. The scars were mostly self- inflicted. Judging by color, fading, and number, I would say she has been cutting, and even burning herself, for at least 4 years. They are all over her body; stomach, ankles, shoulders, upper thigh, and even the breasts, but the majority of them are on her wrists and arms, suggesting either suicide attempts, or at least a need to see excess amounts of blood. There is evidence of stitches in her wrists, leading me to assume that she has slit her veins at least once already. Total, from what I could find, I counted 300+ scars, at least 50 of these done in the last 2 days. Some of the new ones could have used stitches, but it is too late for that, so I tried to seal them with butterfly bandaids." At this, he paused, and looked at Peter and Sophie. Sophie looked like she was going to be sick, and Peter, although trying to maintain a professional appearance, was obviously unnerved.  
  
"Okay doctor, now tell us why she fainted." Peter said, with a somewhat shaky voice.  
  
"Okay, well, a large part of that was the blood loss from the cutting. She has about 2/3 of the normal blood level in her system. Bu add to that the fact that she had multiple drugs in her system, and alcohol, and the fact that she is about 30 pounds underweight for her size and had no food or even drink in her system, well, it's not surprising at all that she passed out."  
  
"What, so you're saying that she is a self-mutilating, abused, possibly suicidal, druggie with anorexia?" Sophie said, slightly disbelieving and highly shocked and overwhelmed.  
  
"No," Dr. Burke began, all seriousness in his voice, "I'm saying that she is a self-mutilation, abused, possibly suicidal, druggie with bulimia. I found bile in her throat and it was swollen, proving the fact that she had been throwing up a lot in the last week or so, and add her underweight factor, and bulimia is the only logical explaination."  
  
"Oh boy." Peter said, "it's a mix of Daisy, Shelby, Jules, Ezra, and Scott. I gotta sit down."  
  
"Why do you say that Peter? I see Daisy and Juliette, but he others..?" Sophie said with concern apperent in her eyes.  
  
"Well, Daisy because of the clothes, which, by the way Sophie, reminds me, make sure all her make up and possibly dangerous jewelry is taken away. And any safety pins or anything that are I her clothes. Also, ask her when she wakes up if her hair color can be washed out. If not, you'll need to take her into town to get it died back to normal."  
  
"Sure thing, but go on about the students, you stopped at Daisy."  
  
"Oh right, anyway, Juliette because of the self-mutilation and bulimia, oh, and also her politeness, but I'm beginning to pick on that just being one of her walls that she gives herself. She's like Shelby in the sense of the abuse, Ezra because of the suicide, and Scott, the drugs and sports. Not to mention we don't even know about her parents yet."  
  
"Well Peter," Sophie began, "You might see this as discouraging, but I, on the other hand, find this to be wonderful news!"  
  
"You what?! Sophie, are you feeling okay, baby?"  
  
"Yes, I'm fine, and seriously Peter. I mean, look at how far the others have come, and if Heather is just multiple parts of them, then, well, we're set!"  
  
"Sophie, I hope you're right. But either way, we definitly have our work cut out for us."  
  
After that was said, Dr. Burke, who had been quietly listening in, went to check on his patient. A few seconds later, he came back with a smile on his face.  
  
"Peter, Sophie, your student is awake." 


	9. Tears for the Truth

A/N: Guys, I know it has been like forever since I updated, and I am sooo sorry for that! I've been working, and having to take summer school in order to get my dipolma, and plannig my wedding, and registering for college, and well, its just been hell. I totally forgot about this story. It really got put on the back burner. Not to mention I had really bad writers block for awhile, that's why this chapter is short and kind of sucks. But anyway, I'm back and I'll try not to take so long in between chapters from now on. Sorry again, and thanks for waiting. Here it is:  
  
Heather woke up with a groan and opened her eyes. She looked around, unsure of where she was. It looked to be some sort of medical room. Slowly, things started to come back to her: her last day home, the arrival at Horizon, the rules, the search, the physical, the run, and then, black. As she was remembering those things, the same doctor, that she vaguely remembered from before, came in, to check on her.  
  
"Oh good, you're awake! I'll go and tell Peter and Sophie." And with that, he left just as quickly as he had arrived.  
  
A few moments later, Peter and Sophie came in.  
  
"Oh Heather, we were so worried." Sophie said, relief in her voice.  
  
"Yea, well, I'm very sorry I troubled you." Heather was obviously trying to get them off her back by using her politeness. "Really, I'm quite fine now. No need to bother with me."  
  
"Heather," it was now Peter's turn to speak, "You aren't fine. You freaked out over the thought of having to change into a gown. Then you ran, and lost consciousness. You've been out for about 2 hours. Now, would you care to tell us why you think you passed out?"  
  
"Um, well, it was probably just heat exhaustion. I am wearing a long sleeve shirt and long jeans." But at that sentence, realization hit her, and she looked down. No longer was she wearing her clothes, but instead, the dreaded gown, and at that, she started to cry.  
  
Sophie was the first to speak, "Oh, Heather, baby, it's okay. It will be alright, shush, shush." She said, as she tried to put her arms around Heather.  
  
However, Heather was quickly going into hysterics. "NO! GET OFF OF ME! STAY AWAY! NO!" She was shaking now. Peter looked at Sophie, unsure of what to do, and slowly walked up to Heather.  
  
"Heather, you need to calm down. You're too weak to be getting this upset."  
  
"NO! STAY THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME! YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUTME! YOU VIOLATED MY PRIVACY! I TOLD YOU NOT TO TAKE MY CLOTHES AND YOU DID ANYWAY! HOW COULD YOU!? I THOUGHT I WAS SUPPOSE TO TRUST YOU!!!"  
  
"Heather, we do want you to trust us, but we were worried about you, and we needed to know what we were up against." Peter was speaking now, using his soothing tone that usually gets the kids to calm down. "We didn't mean to hurt you, but baby, you've been hurt enough it seems. Please, please, let us help you."  
  
Heather's screaming and yelling had calmed to a muffled sobbing. After they had seen that she was calming down enough to be left alone, and also seeing that they weren't going to be getting anywhere talking to here right then, they left to go outside, leaving Heather in the doctor's care once more.  
  
~Once outside.~  
  
Peter and Sophie sat down on the steps outside of the infirmary, both letting a tired sigh.  
  
"Peter," Sophie began, "what are we going to do with her. She's so confused and hurt, and she doesn't trust anybody! It looks to me like she's going to be harder to crack than Shelby, and that by itself is a horribly scary thought!"  
  
"I know what you mean. But for right now, we'll just have to keep a close watch on her, and make sure she sees that we care."  
  
And with that Sophie went back into the infirmary and Peter left to get back to reading Heather's monstrous file, in hopes of understanding his student more. 


End file.
